Senior Year
by darkmystress00
Summary: When Daryl rumbles back into town on his too-loud motorcycle, quiet senior in high school Beth is in for a life changing ride.


Beth and Daryl had grown up together, or rather, Beth had grown up knowing that Daryl Dixon was the teenager down the street who hardly ever stayed at home on account of his daddy, and then one day when Beth was about eight he'd all but vanished all together. That had made her sad, but not so sad as when she'd found out exactly why he'd never been home and had ultimately run away as soon as he turned eighteen. She'd never hated a man until she'd learned what old Will Dixon had done to his boy.

After Daryl left, Beth had brainstormed how she could have helped (as if thinking of something to take away his past hurts would bring him back) but was left with an incomplete feeling in her soul. (Her mama always said she had a heart for helping people and sometimes it would hurt she guessed this was what she meant.) She didn't see him again until she was in high school. Sixteen year old Beth, sophomore in high school, was the quiet good girl who never broke the rules and always, always, ALWAYS did what was right. During the week she worked in the library as a tutor for kids struggling in math (she wasn't a genius or anything, but she knew her way around a theorem and a calculator well enough to help others out if they were struggling) and on the weekends she was either helping out on the family farm, or helping out at the vet clinic where her daddy worked. She was wholly and completely unprepared for when bad-boy Daryl Dixon rolled back into town on his loud motorcycle clad in his leather vest with angel wings on it.

She tried desperately to ignore the way her heart pounded when he rolled by on his bike, and the way her knees went a bit wobbly and her palms a bit sweaty when he beat her to the door of the only diner in town and held the door open for her with a silent nod of greeting. He didn't say a single word to her, but for that Beth was kind of grateful. She was all mixed up inside and had a feeling if he'd said anything to her she might have made a big fool of herself. She watched him from her perch in the round corner booth with all her friends the entire time he sat at the counter eating his food and drinking his soda. Only twice did he look over towards her (probably just to look around and figure out who was staring at him) and she'd had to duck her eyes away. When he left the diner Beth sighed a little sigh of relief. She'd been holding her breath practically waiting for him to come over and yell at her for ogling him the entire time he was eating his lunch, but he hadn't. That night, after she'd left all her friends, and after she'd finished cleaning out the old hay from the floor of the barn, she lay in her bed, sore, achy and stomach all twisted and fluttery as she thought of him.

Beth was not naïve (or at least…not completely) she knew she found him attractive and hoped for a chance to talk to him. She'd never planned on _liking_ Daryl Dixon, it just sort of happened. She laid in bed that night, tossing and turning, picturing deep blue eyes and the roar of a motorcycle all night. She was a mess the next day when the whole town was whispering about how the 'no good Dixon boy was back.' She prayed no one could tell that her face felt a pinch hotter whenever his name came up, or how she seemed to get all clumsy at the mention that he was seen floating around town.

Beth was an even bigger mess when, two days later, the whole town was breathing easier because the 'no good Dixon boy' had moved on in his travels and was no longer a threat to their delicate sensibilities. She cried (though she couldn't really explain why she cried so much) when she first heard it from Tara, which garnered many confused glances from others in the lunch room at school. She'd cried again when Maggie, her big sister (home from college for the week), said it was probably for the best since no one much liked him here anyway.

Beth didn't see him again until her senior year. School had just started and Beth was looking forward to finally getting this last year done with. She was practically marking her calendar down until her eighteenth birthday (only a month away) when she would be able to sign herself out of school and drive her friends around town in her daddy's pickup truck. It was the single most exciting thing she was looking forward to this year…that is until she heard whispers that a familiar motorcycle had been spotted in town, graced with a man she hadn't thought about since his sudden departure two years ago. (Really it was more like a year and a half, but who was counting?) Beth turned up her nose when Tara whispered the news to her during study-hall. She didn't much care, she'd responded quietly back before launching herself into her history homework. At least, she didn't much care to talk about a boy who'd gone and broken her heart without so much as a goodbye (not that he knew, or even meant to). Beth was looking forward to better things. Better things than a nice pair of blue eyes that made her heart pound.

The moment she clapped eyes on him (once again at the diner) she knew she'd been foolish to think she could have ever forgotten him. He was all lean, and muscle and hard lines, and scruff, and it made Beth want to do naughty things to him. Beth felt her face flame red when he tipped his head to her in greeting as she walked by and mumbled out her name. "Beth." It was one syllable, but the way it rolled from his lips, all sexy and rough and low, had her stopping and looking at him as if she'd never seen him before.

"H-hi." She squeaked out. _So much for being brave and badass._ She internally groaned. "Didn't know you knew my name." She said softly, trying desperately to keep her head while she had a talk with the single most attractive man she'd ever laid eyes on. Jimmy had been sweet (cute and sweet but not sinfully attractive like Daryl) and she'd never had a problem dominating conversation with him. Zach had been interesting (ultimately that ended with her feeling a bit uncomfortable) but conversation had been few and far between with him. He didn't have as much between the ears as she had thought initially.

"Course I do." He looked at her fully. "You're the Greene's girl. Your daddy looked out for me for a while before you were born. You were just a kid when I left."

"I'm seventeen now." She cut in. He thought for a moment.

"Still just a kid." She frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"I'll have you know I'm a lot more'n just a number, Mr. Daryl Dixon." He quirked an eyebrow at her, surprised by the spark and sass he was hearing. "I'm strong, and grown up, and going to do more for myself than anyone'll believe. In about a month I'll be a legal adult and no one will be able to stop me from doin' anything." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Age ain't nothing but a number." With that she turned on her heel and made to stalk away to clock in (she worked at the diner now and was saving up to buy her own beat up car so she could go out and experience the world on her own.)

"That it is, Greene. That it is." She faltered in her steps as his mumbled response and paused to cast a quick look at him over her shoulder. She wasn't done with him, and she wanted him to know that.

"And for the record…my daddy always taught me that you say goodbye to people before you run off. Don't know how you missed that lesson, but I'll expect you wont make that same mistake again." He snorted into his cup of coffee and looked at her sideways.

"You want me to say goodbye 'fore I take off next time?" She gave him one quick decisive nod. "Alright fine. I think I can do that." She nodded again.

"Good." She turned and stalked behind the counter, donning her white apron and picking up the pot of coffee. "More coffee?" She asked sweetly and fought the urge to giggle when he snorted into his coffee again.

"You work here?" She nodded. "How long?"

"Almost two years. I'm saving up so I can buy a car." He stared at her.

"You ain't got a boy to drive you 'round town like most of the girls here do?" She scoffed.

"I ain't lookin' for no _boy_ to drive me around town. I can take care of myself." She said determinedly before pouring him more coffee (even though he hadn't actually said yes to wanting more) and moving off down the counter to take a new customer's order. She felt his eyes on her the entire time she worked until he paid his tab and walked out the door. "He'll be back." She told herself as she pocketed her tip (which was more than she thought it would be) "he didn't say goodbye."

It became almost a ritual for them. He'd come in, sit at the counter while she was working. He'd order a coffee (sometimes some food) and just quip and banter back and forth. Sometimes he'd stay until she got off and he'd walk her to the bus stop, sometimes he'd leave (on the days she got busy and couldn't really spare the second to talk to him) but each time she saw him, her heart pounded a little harder, and her insides turned to mush. On her eighteenth birthday she was surprised to walk into the diner and see all the lights out and the place was empty. She checked her watch and called out for her boss, Andrea. It was almost time for the dinner rush…there was no way they'd be closed on a Friday evening this close to the dinner rush without there being an emergency.

"Beth? That you?"

"Yeah Andrea…what's goin' on? Where is everybody? Why are the lights off?"

"Oh honey, did I forget to tell you? New hours today. Can you flip on the lights for me real quick?" Beth stepped up to the counter, grimacing at how dark it was now that fall was setting in and the sun was setting early. She flipped on the lights and started when absolutely everyone she knew sprung up from behind the counter, out of the kitchen and under the tables yelling 'surprise!' She just stared at everyone, her mouth hanging open as her mind tried to process exactly what was going on. Andrea walked out carrying a cake with eighteen candles on top and everything clicked. "Happy Birthday Beth! How does it feel to be eighteen?" Beth just laughed.

"Feels just like it did to be seventeen, except now I'm worried about taxes and voting." There were a few rumbled laughs from the small crowd. Beth couldn't help it as her eyes scanned the crowd but didn't see Daryl's familiar face. She tried valiantly to hide the frown turning the edges of her mouth down.

When Beth got home she found a small box tucked inside the mailbox. She ripped it open and inside was a small keychain that had a set of silver angel wings on it and a tiny, scratched out note (like the pen had been running out of ink) that read

 _Happy Birthday Beth. For when you finally get those wheels of yours to start your own adventure._

 _~Daryl_

Beth had never loved a gift more.

Monday morning saw Beth, good girl extraordinaire, sitting dutifully in her chair in her first period (study hall) when Tara, Rosita and Sasha all rushed in to crowd around her. "You are the talk of the town."

"Me?"

"It seems a certain Bad Boy biker was spotted buying one keychain containing a set of silver angel wings." Beth looked down at her keys where the silver wings poked out of her pocket. "Oh Bethy if you know what's good for you, you'll nip this in the bud and deny even knowing he exists. He's bad news." Beth frowned.

"Sasha, you don't even know him." Beth reasoned.

"I don't have to. Have you heard about all the stuff that comes along with the Dixon name?" Beth stood, slamming her book closed and scooping up her bag. She grabbed her friends' arms and dragged them outside, away from the rest of the snooping ears of their classmates.

"Yes I have…and I'll have you know that you can't help the name you were born to. If you took a minute to actually talk _to_ him, rather than about him, you might figure out he ain't nothing like his daddy." Sasha just looked at her and then to Rosita.

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't have a beef with the guy. I'm with Beth on this one. He doesn't seem so bad," The rumbled of a motorcycle drew everyone's attention, and everyone watched as Daryl rolled into the small high school parking lot on his bike, stopping by Beth and her friends. Beth could feel all eyes on her and the silver wings poking out of her pocket felt like a beacon.

"Hey Greene."

"Morning Daryl." He looked around as students started to whisper amongst themselves. "Thank you for…the wings. I love 'em." He quirked one corner of his mouth up.

"Well I was wonderin' if you wanted to go for a ride. I found a decent junker up the road a ways and the guy said it might not last until tonight. You interested?" Beth's heart thumped wildly in her chest as she put all her papers and books away in her bag and marched over to him.

"That sounds like a great idea Daryl." She braced herself and leaned over to place a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Well then, hop on." And she slung her leg over the back of his bike, settling just behind him. Without warning her reached back and pulled her arms around his waist, and her upper body went flush with his back. The engine roared to life beneath her and it almost drowned out the sound of her heart in her ears. If the town was whispering before, they were going to be full blown yelling about this before they even reached the junkyard, and frankly Beth didn't care. As they made their way down the high way, wind in her hair and sunshine on her face Beth couldn't care less about the fact that everyone would be asking questions about how 'quiet little Beth' managed to turn the head of 'bad boy Dixon.'

They pulled up to the junk yard, and there amidst wreckage from crashes and old clunkers that guzzled gas was a small little yellow thing that just screamed 'take me home' to Beth. The damn thing didn't turn on and had a flat tire, but Beth didn't care. She turned to Daryl a big grin on her face. "Thank you Daryl it's perfect!"

"It needs a new timing belt and some spark plugs, but I can pick those up and replace them as soon as the shop opens."

"Daryl, you don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why?" She watched as his ears and cheeks started to turn red under her gaze.

"You're the only one who has even looked in my direction, much less had a conversation with me. You ain't like everyone else in this town, and you deserve to make your dreams come true. You're gonna love the world out there. It ain't all like this small little town." She bit her lip and walked back over to him, studying him.

"You know…I could use someone to help show me around?" She gently took his hand. "I mean, you'd know where all the good things to see and do are right?" He gave her a shrug. "I'd like it…You know, Daryl…I like you." Slowly, so he could stop her if he wanted (which it didn't seem like he wanted to stop her) she stretched up on her toes and gently kissed his lips.

"Really?" He breathed and when she nodded her answer back at him, his arms slipped around her, cradling her like she was something precious. "Good, 'cause I like you too." He leaned down and captured her lips in a searing hot kiss that left her fluttery and achy for more. She smiled up at him. As long as he did that to her, whenever they wanted, she knew she'd never regret her decision.


End file.
